Note: Figures recorded at 7:40am AEDT. Updated figures and a video recording will be available at 9am AEDT.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell Tuesday, pulling back from record-breaking highs as traders pored through the latest batch of corporate earnings.
The blue-chip Dow lost 93 points, or 0.2%, retreating below the 38,000 level that was crossed for the first time on Monday. The 30-stock benchmark was pressured by a nearly 12% decline in 3M after issuing disappointing guidance. Johnson & Johnson fell more than 1% after reporting earnings. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.
D.R. Horton dropped more than 9% after the homebuilder missed Wall Street’s consensus forecast for per-share earnings. Lockheed Martin slipped more than 4% following a weak outlook for full-year earnings per share.
On the other hand, United Airlines rose more than 6% after reporting strong fourth-quarter results. However, the airline operator said it expects a first-quarter loss from the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 aeroplanes, the model involved in the Alaska Airlines emergency earlier this month.
Shares of other airline operators rose in tandem. American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines and Alaska added more than 3%.
Elsewhere, Verizon and Procter & Gamble helped mitigate losses for the Dow. The pair gained more than 6% and 4%, respectively, as investors bought in following the companies’ financial reports.
But investors are deliberating how long the gains can persist, especially as the rally this year has centred around technology stocks such as Nvidia, lacking broader participation. This month alone, Nvidia is up 20%. In contrast, the small-cap Russell 2000 is lower by more than 2%.
Traders are also awaiting two key data economic data releases later in the week. The preliminary fourth-quarter gross domestic product figure is due Thursday, followed by the Commerce Department’s closely-watched personal consumption expenditures price index for December on Friday.
Investors will monitor Netflix earnings after the bell on Tuesday. Technology remains a focus later in the week, with IBM and Tesla slated for Wednesday and Intel expected Thursday. Outside of tech, American, Alaska and Southwest are also due Thursday.
Turning to commodities, oil prices remained stable on Tuesday amid mixed Middle East signals and concerns about supply disruptions. The West Texas Intermediate contract increased by 0.28%, while Brent crude rose by 0.06%. These fluctuations were influenced by events like Israel proposing a Gaza ceasefire, rejected by Hamas, and supply threats like Ukrainian drone strikes and Yemen airstrikes. Cold weather reduced U.S. oil production in North Dakota by 400,000 barrels per day, but Libya restarted production at the Sharara oilfield, adding 300,000 barrels per day.
The continued decrease in nickel prices is expected to result in numerous mine closures, further solidifying Indonesia's position as a dominant player in the global supply of nickel. This decline, exceeding 40% over the past year, is primarily attributed to increased nickel supply from Indonesia, coinciding with diminished demand growth. Analysts from BloombergNEF suggest that Indonesian projects are better equipped to withstand the effects of declining nickel prices due to their flexibility.
Bitcoin has lost 15 per cent of its value over the past two weeks, as some investors use the much-hyped launch of bitcoin exchange traded funds earlier this month to take profits and exit their holdings of the volatile cryptocurrency. The price of bitcoin sank as much as 3 per cent on Tuesday, dipping below $39,000 for the first time since early December, before recovering slightly in afternoon trading.
Figures around the globe
European markets closed lower. London’s FTSE lost 0.03 per cent, Frankfurt fell 0.34 per cent, and Paris closed 0.34 per cent lower.
Turning to Asian markets, Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 0.08 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2.63 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite closed 0.53 per cent higher.
The Australian share market closed 0.51 per cent higher at 7,514.94.
Ex-dividends
5G Networks (ASX:5GN) is paying 2 cents unfranked
Alternative Investment Trust (ASX:AIQ) is paying 3.95 cents unfranked
Mirrabooka Investments (ASX:MIR) is paying 4 cents fully franked
Dividends payable
Premier Investments (ASX:PMV)
Sources: Bloomberg, FactSet, IRESS, TradingView, UBS, Bourse Data, Trading Economics, CoinMarketCap.
